Bethany Evangelical
Lutheran Church is at the southeast corner of the New
Jersey City University campus on Kennedy Boulevard. The modified Swedish
castle-style church is the only property to share space with the university
along Kennedy Boulevard between Audubon and Culver avenues.

The Bethany Evangelical
Lutheran Church was founded when the Swedish Lutheran Ebenezer Church
and the Swedish Lutheran Bethel Church joined together on July 15, 1943.
The beginnings for the new congregation dates back to 1884 when a Brooklyn,
NY, minister came to Jersey City to hold services for a number of newly
arrived Swedish immigrants. The Swedish Lutherans first met in a private
home at 400 Tonnelle Avenue and then in the basement of St. Paul's German
Lutheran Church. In 1890, they founded the Ebenezer Church and built a
church on Palisade Avenue. It relocated across the street to make way
for the construction of Dickinson
High School in 1906. A church elder reported remembrances of the destruction
of the church's stained glass windows from the Black
Tom explosion in 1916. The congregation remained at Palisade Avenue
until 1942 when the church was razed for public housing.

In 1923, in the Greenville
section of Jersey City, the Bethel Church was founded for Swedish speaking
Finn immigrants. It was located on Armstrong Avenue between Bergen and
Jackson avenues. In 1943, the two churches had a common pastor. This development
led to a decision to merge the congregations and for religious services
to be held in the Greenville section where many of the church members
lived. For a time, they met at the Seventh Day Adventist Church on Stegman
Street. Property was purchased at the corner of Bergen and Grant avenues
for a new church; however, the plan was derailed when the prioritized
use of building materials for the war disrupted the project.

The congregation almost
disbanded between 1945 and 1950, having lost its temporary meeting place
on Bergen Avenue and its pastor. When a new pastor, the Rev. H. Allison
Linne, arrived in 1950, the congregation was revitalized. It enjoyed a
growth spurt growing from 170 to over 300 members of different ethnic
groups. The Bergen Avenue property was sold, and its present site on the
corner of Kennedy (then Hudson) Boulevard was purchased. The cornerstone
was laid in 1951, and the church was dedicated the following year.

Upon entering the
small chapel-like Bethany church, one is drawn to the stunning stained
glass "Resurrection" window that rises from the floor to the
ceiling. The luminous five glass panels in an open fan-like design depict
scenes from the New Testament. It was designed and installed by the famed
J & R Lamb Studios of Clifton, NJ, founded in 1857, and one of the
oldest firms working in this craft. The Grace Lutheran Church at 982 Summit
Avenue and Evangelismos Greek Orthodox Church at 661 Montgomery Street
also have stained glass windows by the Lamb Studio. The bell in the church
tower came from the ferry slip at Cortlandt Street in New York City; it
was donated by a construction company that dismantled the bell.

Today, Bethany Church
sponsors outreach programs, such as Headstart, a summer bible program
for children, and Narcotics Anonymous, to serve the community.